Judge Waickowski's last day on bench

Judge Paul S. Waickowski sat in his usual chair yesterday, wearing his usual black robe. But his courtroom was transformed.

Instead of alleged criminals, the judge looked out upon a sea of colleagues and friends. After nearly 20 years on the bench, including nearly 18 as presiding judge in Westboro District Court, it was Judge Waickowski's last day on the bench. Friends and colleagues gathered for his retirement party and said he will be sorely missed.

“Tomorrow morning I'm going to start missing this job, big time,” the judge told the room full of court employees, lawyers, judges, police officers and others. “What I'm really going to miss is working with all of you good people.”

At 63, Judge Waickowski is retiring early, he said, because he has maxed out on his retirement pension. Judges in Massachusetts are allowed to work until age 70.

But Judge Waickowski, of Wellesley, won't be away from the courtroom for long. In fact, he may soon be back in this courtroom, the one he has come to know so well. But next time, he won't be wearing a robe — he intends to start another career as a criminal defense lawyer.

That means he'll be trying to sway a judge who used to be his colleague.

“They'll probably be more uncomfortable about it than I am,” Judge Waickowski said in an interview this week.

According to the Code of Judicial Conduct, however, a retired judge must wait six months before appearing in a courtroom as a lawyer.

Criminal defense is where Judge Waickowski got his start. After graduating from Boston College Law School, he started working in the public defender's office in Suffolk County, and later Middlesex County. In 1977, he came to the Worcester public defender's office and later became the chief public defender in Worcester County.

In his nearly two decades as a public defender, Judge Waickowski enjoyed the ability to give each case the attention it deserved.

“I wasn't constrained by whether (clients) could pay me or not,” he said, “so I could take the case to the Supreme Court, if necessary, and not worry about the fact that monies had to be expended.”

After being nominated by Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and confirmed by the Governor's Council, Judge Waickowski joined the judiciary in 1991.

A judgeship is more than a job, he said, “it's a privilege.”

“You really affect people's lives greatly. You have too much power over an individual, I feel, but you really have a lot of power to correct or improve a situation, and that's unique.”

He has seen some amusing cases during his career, but those come and go. It's the most tragic cases that stay in the mind, Judge Waickowski said.

He remembers a woman, shaking with fear, who walked into the Westboro courthouse more than 10 years ago. She was seeking a restraining order against a man who had raped her. The judge unsuccessfully tried to convince the woman to bring criminal charges against the man. The woman never came back.

“I worry about that lady,” the judge said.

He said he has no regrets about any of the decisions he has made from the bench but acknowledged that some of the criminals he let free probably committed other crimes. It's an imperfect system, he said, a system based on limited facts.

“You try to be as fair as possible, and that's always a difficult thing to define,” he said.

Southboro Police Chief Jane T. Moran, who attended the retirement party, said her officers could always count on Judge Waickowski's “consistency and fairness.”

“He has heart and common sense,” said Alan Rosenfield, a Westboro lawyer who also attended the party.

Carmine M. Simonelli, assistant clerk magistrate in Westboro, became emotional when talking of the judge's retirement. He described the judge this way: “Compassionate when compassion is called for, tough when tough is called for.”

Clerk Magistrate MaryAnn Pozzessere had trouble finding words to talk about the man she called one of kindest people she's ever known.

Judge Robert B. Calagione of Milford District Court said he will serve as acting presiding judge in Westboro, splitting his time between Milford and Westboro until a permanent replacement is appointed. He said Judge Waickowski will be sorely missed.

With Judge Waickowski's retirement, the Massachusetts judiciary will be losing its tallest member. At 6 feet 9 inches, he is the tallest judge in the state, he said.

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